Repeater for weft replenishing looms



1943' B. w. BROUWER 'ETAL 2,312,147

' REPEATER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM FiledDec. 24, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE N TOR BENJ'AMI N w. BRouwER A1" TORNEY Feb. 23, 1943' B. w. BROUWER ET AL REPEATER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOM Filed Dec. 24, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN'I'OR Q ,m- M

A-r-ronuzv BENa'AMmW. BRbuwR Patented Feb. 23, 1943 REPEATER FOR WEFT REPLENISHING LOOMS Benjamin W. Brouwer, Worcester, Mass, assignor t Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application December 24, 1942, Serial No. 469,991

Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in weft replenishing looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide such a loom wherein a number of different stacks of reserve bobbins can be utilized for the replenishment of a'single shuttle.

It has been proposed heretofore to employ repeaters or the like for the several stacks of a multi-color weft replenishing mechanism operative to permit bobbins to be drawn from more than one stack for the replenishment of a single shuttle, but as heretofore made such mechanisms have been restricted to three stacks because of the cam which positions the stack selector. The cam has various steps operatively connected to the stack selector and is given a step by step movement, usually by an actuator connected to the transfer mechanism. In the rotation of the cam it is necessary for the lever which cooperates with it to assume various angular positions depending upon the levels of the cam, but the cam will not take care of more than three stacks because shift from the high to the low level is so great as to interfere with the proper operation of the mechanism.

It is an important object of my present invention to provide a multi-stack bobbin magazine having a releaser for each stack and a control mechanism including a cam having fewer steps or levels than the number of stacks used, thereby permitting the construction of a simple cam which will permit the cam lever to move readily from high to low position.

In a form of multi-color weft replenishing mechanism which has gone into extensive use a magazine is used employing vertical slides to operate cradles for the several bobbin stacks, one slide and cradle for each stack. When it is desired to use the full capacity of a magazine having four stacks, for instance, to replenish a single shuttle, all of the stacks will carry weft of the same kind. According to another feature of my invention the stacks are arranged in pairs each of which corresponds to a step or level of the aforesaid cam. The vertical slides cooperate with a horizontally moving selector which in the usual multicolor weft replenishing mechanism has a separate position for each vertical slide, but as set forth hereinafter I provide mechanism by which the selector will have as many positions as there are pairs of stacks and these positions will be determined by the cam.

In order that the selector in any operating position may cooperate with the corresponding pair of slides, one slide at a time, each slide is provided with a pivoted pawl or the like, and the pawls of a pair move alternately into operative position with respect to the selector. By this arrangement first one and then the other of the stacks of a pair will feed bobbins to the shuttle without requiring movement of the selector, and the cam operates to move the selector from one pair to the other pair of slides. In this way the full capacity of the magazine can be used for replenishing a single shuttle by giving the selector half as many positions as the number of stacks employed.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an improved cradle releasing slide having a selector actuated lug pivoted thereon for movement into and out of operative position with respect to the selector. A spring mounted on the slide may be employed for urging the lug toward its operative position and other mechanism operated by the slides as they shift is used to determine Whether the lugs shall be operatively or inoperatively positioned with respect to the selector. In this feature of my invention the selector may register with one pair of slides for two successive transfers and then shift to register with the other pair for the next two successive transfers, or the selector can shift from one pair to another pair for each transferring operation of the loom. These two modes of operating the selector are possible because the movable lugs of any one pair shift to cause alternate operation of the slides of the pair whether or not the replenishing operations which operate the slides of any one pair are consecutive.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereiafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings wherein I show two forms of control for the selector mechanism,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a weft replenishing loom having my invention applied thereto,

Fig. 2' is a side elevation of the weft replenishing mechanism as seen from the center of the loom and showing the preferred form of control for the selector mechanism,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing two pairs of slides and the positioners for the pivoted lugs,

Fig. 5 is a horizontal detailed section on line 5-5 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 6 is a detailed end elevation of one of the selector and slide actuator 29.

to the magazine frame.

cradle mechanisms on an enlarged scale looking in the direction of arrow 6, Fig. 1,

Fig. '7 is a detailed vertical section on line 1-1 of Fig. 2 showing a front elevation of the preferred form of selector control mechanism,

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the relation between the cam used in the preferred form of the invention and the lever which controls the selector, and

Fig. 9 is a View similar to Fig. 8 showing a modified form of cam for the lever which positions the selector.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, a loom frame H3 supports a lay ll whi'chis reciproc'ated backwardly and forwardly in the usual manneriby means of connectors I2. In the presentinstance the left hand end of the loom is provided with a gang G of shuttle boxes the upper cell M of which will remain in active position to receive and have picked therefrom a shuttle S. Other shuttle boxes may be'used to accommodate other shuttles which will not be replenished by the magazine but which can have "their suppliesrenewed by hand. The invention is concerned primaril with the replenishment of shuttle S and the other shuttles not shown are not necessary and can be omitted. The upper left hand part of the loom may be provided with a pattern mechanism K of the Knowles type for operating the shuttle boxes by well-known means if more than one shuttle is used and also for raising or lowering the harnesses H. The right hand end of the lay as viewed in Fig. l is provided with a single shuttle box I5 to receive the shuttle S, and right and left picker sticks i6 and H, respectively, operate to pick the shuttle alternately from the boxes, causing the shuttle to enter box 1 5 on alternate picks of the loom as the lay is advancing.

.A multi-stack magazine M is located at the right hand end of the loom'and'in'the present instance is provided with four stacks of reserve bobbins R, R2, R3 and'R L respectively, associated with vertical slides .26, 2i, '22 and 23, re-

spectively. Each slide is'operatively connected atits'ldwer end toabobbin releasing'cradle'25 sneer which is shown in'Fig. 6. Thesli'des are normally down and their cradles empty and positioned 'as shown in Fig. '6' to support'the bottom bobbin of'the associated stack. When any-slide 'israised the cradle therefor 'rocksas indicated in Fig. 6 fromthe'full to the-dotted line positionto permit the lowest'bobbin' of thesuperposed-stack to move into the'cradle, and when the slide is lowered the cradle is returned to normal position and the bobbin in it is released -to move -to the transfer position T shown in dot and dash lines in Fig; 6.

The magazine operates in conjunction with a 'weftdetector -D which determines the condition of weft in-the shuttle while his in box l5. When the weft is exhausted the detector operates well known control .mechanism designated generally at '21 to lower rod 28 and cause rocking of a stack The selector includes a shaft 39 slidable in fixed bearings on the magazine frame and having secured to the rear end thereof a grooved collar 3! which cooperates A with the upper end of a lever 32 pivoted as at'33 As the selector rocks in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed inFig. l incident to-indication of weft exhaustion by the detector its actuating fingers 35 and 36 will rise tolift the vertical slide which happens at the time to register with one or another of thefingers.

control of the box mechanism after the detector has given an indication of weft exhaustion when the shuttle is on the left hand end of the loom as viewed in Fig. 1, but inasmuch as shuttle box I4 will ordinarily .be in active position in the practice of my present invention, movements of the actuator'Zf-B necessary to the accomplishment of my invention will not be effected by the box motion at the opposite end of the loom but by structure to'be described hereinafter.

The lay is provided with abunterAQ normally above alatch i l' conneotedto'a transfer-rer arm 42 movable about fixed stud l3 on the magazine frame. When a transfer is to occur the magazine is set for a replenishing operation by downward movement of -a rod 45 which as shown in Fig. 2 is connected to the latch 41. The magazine thus set for operation is caused to have its replenishing operation'by the lay as the latter nears the'forward part of its advancing movement and a bobbin in the dot and-dash line position shown in Fig. -6 will be inserted into the shuttle in box' l'5.

Rod '45 is connected at its upper-end to a lever 4i secured-to a rocking shaft 13 mounted for oscillation in the upper part of the magazine frame. Shaft til-carries a shelf 59 which is normally in raised position but is engageable for depression by dogsEG on theupper ends-of the sIides'ZiL E S. When any slide rises its dog will spring over the shelf, and when the slide is lowered as already described the dog will rock shaft 43 in theclockwise-direction as viewed in Fig. 1 to lift a rod 5| connected to the-shaft at its upper end and to a shuttle position detector 152 at its "lower end. The detectorEZ comprisesa head 53 which is normally in forward position out oftthe path of the lay, but when the .magazineis set for transfer by the oscillation of shaftiit the head :53 will move rear-wardl around pivot 54, and the advance movement of the layon-the transferring beat of the loom will act to returnthe head'EB to its forward position and..ioperate through downward movement of rod 5! :to return" the shelf 49 to its normal raised .position.

Itis believed that-the operation of vthe'rnechanism thus-far described willbe understood from the foregoing description. Indication of weft ex tion of the shaft-@Sso that-the magazine will,be

set fortransfer, 'thissetting involving the lifting of latch-4| into the pathof bunter' lil, movement "of theshuttleposition detector headl53 rearwardly, and movement' of a bobbin from one .or.an other of the stacks to transfer" position under the -transferrer' arm.

For "further reference to the structure an mode of operation of-the structure just'described 1,030,748, 1,261,417 and 1,510,765.

An arm 60 extends upwardly from the transferrer arm and is connected to a rod 6| the rear end of which is pivoted to a lever 62 carrying an actuator pawl 63 and mounted on a fixed stud 64. Also mounted on the stud is a ratchet wheel 65 fast with respect to a lock wheel 66 cooperating with a yielding lock finger 67 pivoted on previously described stud 33. The ratchet and lock wheel are fixed with respect to a cam 68 shown in Fig. 8 having a' high dwell 69 connected by inclines to an intervening low dwell II. The dwells and inclines of cam 88 engage a roll 12 on lever 32 to position the latter. The stroke of rod 6| is such as to cause approximately a one-fourth turn of the cam each time the transferrer lever 42 descends during a replenishing operation, and four successive transfer movements will effect a complete rotation of the cam. In some respects the cam and means of actuating it from the transferrer lever may be similar to structure shown in Gordon Patent No. 1,030,077, although as will be pointed out hereinafter the cam has a relation with respect to the replenishing mechanism different from that set forth in the last named patent.

The front pair of vertical slides and 2| are provided with lifting lugs 80 and 8|, respectively, operable by finger n the selector, while the rear pair of slides 22 and 23 have their lugs 82 and 83 operable by the rear actuator finger 36. The front pair of slides have their depressing lugs 39 operated by finger 35, while lugs 39 of the rear slides 22 and 23 are operated by finger 36.

The upper or lifting lugs are constructeddifferently from those heretofore used in weft replenishing mechanisms. These lugs are made and mounted on their vertical slides in such manner that they can swing either into or out of register with their corresponding actuator fingers 35 and- 36. the slides 2| and 22 are each provided with a laterally extending stud 85 which passes through the hollow hubs 86 of the corresponding lugs 8| and 82. A spring within each hollow hub has one end attached to the associated lug and the other end attached to a collar 88 held in fixed adjusted posireference may be had to the following patents:

Referring particularly to Figs. 4 and. 5 M

tion on the stud. The effect of these springs is to lift the corresponding lugs to active position, the spring of slide 2| tending to turn lug 8| in a counter-clockwise direction to place lifter boss 9| in lifting position as viewed in Fig. 4. The spring corresponding to slide 22 tends to turn lug 82 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4 to place lug 92 in lifting position. Suitable stops 95 and 96 on the slides are provided to limit the angular movement of the pivoted lugs.

The front and back vertical slides 20 and 23 carry laterally extending studs 91 similar to studs 85. Studs 91 extend through the solid hubs 98 of the associated lugs 80 and 83, and torsion springs 99 having one end thereof attached to the associated slide and the other end to the corresponding hub 98. Springs 99 tend to raise their lugs 80 and 83 so that boss 90 of lug 80 tends to turn clockwise toward operative position as viewed in Fig. 4, while boss 93 on the rear lug 83 is urged to turn in a counter-clockwise direction to its opera- 7 tive position by its spring. Stops I00 and I0| limit the angular movements of lugs 88 and 83.

' The movable lugs are positioned by controllers P and P2 corresponding to the front and back pairs of vertical slides respectively. These controllers are alike and a description of one will suffice for both. Controller P comprises a lever I05 pivoted at I06 to the magazine frame and having an upwardly extending arm I0'I pivotally connected'as at I08 to a spring plunger I09. The plunger extends through a guide 0 fastened to the magazine frame and is surrounded by a spring I which exerts a downward force on the pivot I08. Lever I05 has front and back wings H2 and I I 3, respectively, located for engagement with the vertical slides 20 and 2|, respectively. Thus, as seen at the right of Fig. 4, when slide 20 is raised by the selector it will engage wing I I2 to rock lever I05 in a counter-clockwise direction to move the pivot I08 to the left in which position it is resiliently held by spring III. When slide 2| rises, however, it engages wing I I3 to rock the lever 05 in the opposite direction and'move the pivot I08 to the right in which position it will also be held resiliently by the spring III. .A similar relation exists for the controller P2 relatively to the rear pair of slides, the lever I05 of controller P2 being rocked to the left when slide 22 rises and to the right when slide 23 rises.

The levers I05 of controllers P and P2 have depending therefrom lug positioners I20 and I2I, respectively, which may be of flat form as indicated in Fig. 5 and are preferably made of resilient material. The lower end of positioner I20 is capable of engaging lugs and 8|, while positioner 2| engages lugs 82 and 83, as shown in Fig. 5. When positioner I 20 shifts to the right as shown in Fig. 5 it will rock lug 80 downwardly to inactive position and permit lug 8| to be moved to active position by its spring, and when moving to the left positioner I20 will depress lug 8| to idle position and. permit lug 80 to become active. A similar control is exerted over lugs 82 and 83 by positioner |2|. Each of the pivoted lifter lugs has a rounded surface I22 which engages the corresponding positioner below a horizontal line passing through the associated pivot to assist the positioner in turning the lugs on their centers. The bosses 93 are substantially over their re spective lugs 39 when in active position but are out of vertical alignment with these lugs when in inactive position. i

In operation, it may beassumed that the parts are in the position shown in Figs. 2, 4, and 5 and that the shuttle is being picked back and forth in customary manner with a sufficient supply of weft. Eventually this supply becomes depleted and the detector initiates a replenishing operation by causing upward movement of actuator fingers 35 and 36. It may be assumed for purposes of description that positioner I20 is in its right hand position and that selector 29 is in forward position with the finger 35 over the front pair of depressor lugs 39 and under boss 9|, while the rear finger 36 is forward of and out of register with, rear lugs 39 and pivoted lugs 82 and83. Lugs 80 and 82 are idle and lugs 8| and 83 are in their active position. As finger 35 rises it will lift slide 2| and cause the latter as it approaches the upper end of its movement to engage wing 3 to rock controller P in a clockwise direction, Fig. 4, from the full to the dotted line position. Positioner I20 is therefore urged to move rearwardly, or to the left in Fig. 4, against boss 9|, but the latter is momentarily held raised due to the fact that finger 35 is up. As soon as finger 35 moves downwardly away from boss 9| spring I09 and positioner I20 will cooperate to cause the pivoted lug 8| to move in a clockwise direction to idle position. At the same time the pivoted lug 80 rises to active position. Slide 2|reimains up and there isabobbin inthe correspond-- ing cr'adle.

The operation just described initiates a replenishing operation of the .loom and occurs'while the shuttle is under the magazine. The shuttle isthenpicked on the opposite --end of the loom and actuator finger 35 will be depressed :as ;already described to engage the :lug :39 of -raised slide 2|. Descent of slide 2| to its normal down position sets the magazine for transfer'with the following results: the bobbin drawn from reserve x's'tack R2 movesto transfer position, latch 41 "rises r-to transfer position in the path of hunter, and shuttle position detector head 53.1moves :rearwardly. Oh the forward beat of the lay which occurs when the shuttleis next at'the magazine tend-oi the loom the lay hunter will engage the :latch M to cause 'a transfer operation during :which' the transferrer arm 42 descends to" insert athe released bobbin into the shuttle and also cause'roclil to move rearwar'dly. The cam 58 Zis thereupon given a 1; turn and roll 12 moves from the low dwell H which it previously engaged :up one of the inclines to high dwell6'9. At

this time rod 38'descends as it always does when therzshuttle is attthe magazine end of the loom, --but'the weft "detector is temporarily disabledgin the usual manner and-the selector'29 therefore cannot rock, hence it slides rearwardly without interfering'with any of the-vertical slides. During the last' part of the forward motion of the lay 'the latter moves head 53forw'ardly toresetthe imagazine.

.iRearward movement of selector 29 places :fingel 36 in :register' with .39 .ofislides 22 and 23, while at the same'time moving fingerrearwardly-out of register with "lugs of the front pair of slides.

'The .parts remain'in this position with the se- Liector rearward until the shuttle :pleted, whereuponthe previously described opera-- .tion is-repea-ted and'finger 36is raised to engage boss '93: and lift the slide 23. The controller B2 ris'thereupon caused .to rock in a clockwise direc- ;tion" as viewed in Fig, 4' and the :positioner 'IZ-l shifts to the left. The shuttle isthenzpickedlto thetopposite end-of the loom and-slide 2318/(16- Ipresse'd'by finger36. During thesecond trans- :feroperation which. follows arrival of the shuttle at the magazine end of the loom, cam 8 -will :againbe given a one-quarter turmbut due to" the length of dwell "69 the roll 12 will remain in conxtact withit and the selector 29 will therefore remain-in rearposition. The'fingers;35 and 36 re- -main as they were at the end of the first trans- :ferfibut lug 93 is now idle and lug 92 active.

For the thirdireplenishing operation lug-92 will berenga'ged by finger "36 as thelay rises and slide -2'2 will 'therefore move up to advance a bobbin in stack R3 toward transfer and at the sametime -rocl; positioner P2 "back to the position shown iinrFig. 4 Subsequent depression of lug-n39 .on slide -22 by finger 36 will release the previously sadvanced, bobbin of stack R3 -sothat it can move to transfer position and theloom will again be set for transfer, The ensuing movement of the vtransferrer arm-42 willgive cam- 68another one- "quarter turn,and this time roll 12 will movedown :one ofthe inclines'llltothe adjacent-part of'low dwell -'l| andselector-ZQ will move forwardly.

For the fourth transferrslide 20 will be raised to return positioner Pl to the full'li-ne-positionof Fig. .4 andcam 68 will beigivenanother onequarter turn andcause low dwell! lto-moveunder rol 1-2 to the same .position it occupied :at

boss 93-and overthe iu s 1.;

is again :dea f the ibegi-nning-lof the .four transferring operations which have been described. The selector remains in forward ;position-and the par-ts are placed. so as -.to .start the sequence ,just described when the fifthitransfier is .called.

.In this cycle it will be seen "that a-bobbi-n is drawn from -eacl 1 of the reserve stacks in the orderRZ, R4, R3 and RI ,-even though theselector 29 :i-s given only two longitudinal positions. In this preferred form of the invention it -'will be notedthat the color slide moves only everysecend-transfer.

The invention'i-s not limited to the form of cam already described nor is it necessary that the selector :slide 29 be moved longitudinally only every second transfer. The selector can if desired be moved longitudinally for each transfer, which case a modified form -.of control cam J25 will beused as shown in Fig. 9. This cam has three spaced high dwells I26 and three intervening .low :dwel-ls 121. Rigid with the cam is a six-toothed ratchetwheel "I30 which is driven by ,a pawl l3! on a lever 1 32 rotating about the stud 134. .Rod 133 connected to the arm Hi2 extends forwardly to be pivoted to an arm 4-34 on the 'transferrer 42. Arm I34 is shorter than arm 68, inasmuch as the cam in the modified form is shown as requiring six step-by-step movements for acomplete rotation.

When cam 12-5 is used the selector 29 will be shifted for every replenishing operation of the loom, being in forward position on alternate transfers when the roll 12 engages low dwells I21 and being in rear position on intervening transfers when the roll engages the high points 126. Four successive step by step movements of the cam i25 will complete a cycle of operations of the magazine and an order in which bobbins could be drawn .for'tra-nsfer, for instance, would be stacks R5,, R3, R2 and B4. In this sequence it will be noted that one bobbin is from :each of the four stacks. As in the preferred form it will be seen that the pivoted lugs perform half hf .th-e selecting operations while the selector 29 .performsthe remaining half of the selecting loperations'due to its shifting movements.

it is obvious that .I am not limited to the two forms of earn :set :forth herein inasmuch as it is sufiicien-t for the purpose of my invention if over alarge-number of successive transfers the selector lee-forward for-one-halfof the transfers and be rearward for the other half of the transfers. Two successive rockings of the selector 29 about its axis when in the same longitudinal position will result in drawing abobbinfrom each-of the pair of stacks corresponding to that position. These successive rockings of the selector can occur either with or without an interfering longitudiinal movement to thGOthBI'IDOSltlOII.

.From-the foregoingit will be seen that I have :provided-ineans-by which 'a plurality of stacks of vsimilar reserve bobbins can be utilized for the replenishment of a single shuttle'by mechanism which draws the bobbins in rotation from the -.stacksbutrequires only half as many longitudim1 positions for the selector as the number of stacks-involved. This-result grows'out of the fact thatthe-pivoted lugs effect part of the selection and the movement of the selector effects the re- 'mainder 'of the selection. It will also be seen that the selector can either be movedlongitudi- "na'llyfor every transfer or for every other transfer. It will also be seen that I have provided an improved vertical cradle controlling slide having pivoted thereto a lifter lug resiliently held in ac- :anism when the latter has its next movement in tive position but movable to inactive position.

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having weft replenishing mechanism to replenish the weft in the shuttle by bobbins drawn one at a time from any one of a plurality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged in a plurality of pairs of stacks, a bobbin releaser for each stack, an actuator common to the releasers, means effective incident to an operation of the replenishing mechanism to move the actuator from one operating position corresponding to the pair of releasers of one pair of stacks to another operating position corresponding to the pair of releasers of another pair of stacks, and a releaser selector mechanism for each pairof releasers causing the actuator to operate the releasers of either pair of releasers one at a time and alternately for successive operations of said actuator when the latter is in the corresponding operating position.

2. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having weft replenishing mecha nism to replenish the weft in the shuttle by bobbins drawn one at a time from any one of a plurality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged in a plurality of pairs of stacks, a pair of bobbin releasers for each pair of stacks; one releaser for each stack, an actuator mechanism common to said releasers, means effective incident to operation of the replenishing mechanism to position said actuator mechanism operatively with respect to said pairs of releasers, one pair only at a time, means effective upon depletion of weft in said shuttle causing said actuator mechanism to operate Whichever releaser registers therewith 'of the pair of releasers with respect to which the 'actuator'mechanism is operatively positioned, and a selector means for eachpair of bobbin releasers, the selector means of any given pair of bobbin releasers causing the actuator mechanism to operate alternately the releasers of said given pair of releasers for successive depletion's of the shuttle which occur when said actuator mechanism is operatively positioned with respect to said given pair of releasers.

3. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having weft replenishing mechanism to replenish the weft in the shuttle by bobbins drawn one at a time from any one of a plurality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged in a plurality of pairs of stacks, a pair of bobbin releasers for each pair of stacks, one releaser for each stack, an actuator mechanism for said releasers, means operative incident to an operation of said replenishing mechanism to position said actuator mechanism operatively with re'spect to said pairs of releasers, one pair at a time, means effective upon depletion of weft in the shuttle to cause said actuator mechanism to move in a given direction to operate whichever releaser registers therewith of the pair of releasers with respect to which said mechanism is operatively positioned, and a selector means for each pair of bobbin releasers, the selector means of any given pair of releasers being operated by one of the releasers of said given pair of releasers and causing the other releaser of the latter pair of releasers to be operated by the actuator mechfor said releasers, means operative incident to an operation of said replenishing mechanism to position said actuator mechanism operatively with respect to said pairs of releasers, one pair at a time, means effective upon depletion of weft in the shuttle to cause said actuator mechanism to move in a given direction to operate whichever releaser registers therewith of the pair of releasers with respect to which said actuator mechanism is operatively positioned, and a selector means for each pair of bobbin releasers, the selector means of any given pair of bobbin releasers being operated by the releasers of said given pair of releasers and causing said actuator mechanism to cooperate alternately and one at a time with the releasers of said given pair of releasers when the actuator mechanism has successive movements in said given direction with respect to said given pair of releasers.

5. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having Weft replenishing mechanism to replenish the weft in the shuttle by bobbins drawn one at a time from any one of a plurality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged in a plurality of pairs of stacks, a bobbin releaser for each stack, an actuator common to all the releasers, transfer mechanism to transfer a bobbin released from any one of said stacks into said shuttle, a positioner for said actuator controlled by said transfer mechanism and effective to locate said actuator operatively with respect to the pairs of releasers, one pair at a time, said positioner being caused by operation of the transfer mechanism to effect movement of the actuator from operative position with respect to one pair of releasers to operative position with respect to another pair of releasers, and a releaser selector mechanism for each pairof releasers causing the 'actuator to operate the releasers of its respective pair one at a time and alternately for successive operations of said actuator when the latter is in the corresponding operative position. v

6. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having Weft replenishing mechanism to replenish the weft in the shuttle by bobbins drawn one at a time from any one of a pluQ- rality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged in a plurality of pairs of stacks, a pair of bobbin releasers for each pair of stacks, one releaser for each stack, an actuator mechanism for said releasers, a transferrer arm having an operating motion for each replenishing operation of the loom, a positioner for said actuator mechanism actuated by the transferrer arm and effec-v tive to locate said actuator mechanism operatively with respect to said pairs of releasers, one pair at a time, means effective upon depletion of weft in the shuttle to cause said actuator mechanism to move in a given direction to operate whichever releaser registers therewith of the pair of releasers with respect to which said actuator mechanism is operatively positioned, and a selector means for each pairof bobbin releasers,

any: given selector means being operated by either one of'the releasers-of the associatedpairof releasers and causing the other releaser of the latter pair of releasers to be operated. by the actuator mechanism when the latter has its next movement in. said given direction'and is also registered with the pair'of releasers associated with said given selector'means.

7. Ina weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having weft replenishing mechanismto replenish the weft" in the shuttle by bobbins drawn one at a time from any one of a plurality of stacks of similarreserve bobbins arrangedin two pairs of stacks, a bobbinrreleaser for each stack, anactuator common to the releasas a positioner controlling the position of the actuator, a member having a movement for each replenishing operation of the loom, means operatedby the member causing the positioner' to locate the actuator in two difierent positions in chest which the actuator is operatively positioned with respect to one of said pairs of releasers and the other of which positions said actuator is operativeh' positioned with're'spect to the other of said pair'ofreleasers, and a releaser selector mechanism for each pair of -releasers, eachreleaser selector mechanism effective to cause the actuator to' operate therelea'sers ofthe corresponding pair of releasers one at a time and alternately for successiveoperations of said actuator when the latter is in the same position with respect to said pairsof releasers.

8. In aweft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having weft replenishing mechanism tcrreplenish the weft in the shuttle by bobbinsdrawn' one at a time from any one of a plurality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged intwo pairs of stacks, a' bobbin releaser for each stack, an actuator common to the releasers, a cam having high and low dwells to position the actuator, means operative incident to a replenishing operation of theloorn moving said can to make said dwells alternately operative to position the actuator and cause said high dwell to position the actuator operatively with respect to one onlyof said pairs of releasers and cause said low dwell to position the actuatoropera'tively' with respect to the other pair only of said pair of releasers; and a releaser selector mechanism for each pair of releasers, one-oi said releaser selector mechanisms causing the actuat'or' to operate the releasers of one pair of releasers one at a time and alternately for successiveoperations of said actuator when the latter is operatively related to said high dwell and. the other releaser selector mechanism causing the actuator to operate the releasers ofthe otherpair of releasers one at a time and alternately for successive operations of said actuator when the latter is operatively related to said low dwell.

9. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle and having a weft replenishing me'chanism to replenishthe weft in the shuttle by'bobbins drawn one at a time from a plurality of stacks of" similar reserve bobbins arranged in two pairs of stacks; a pair of bobbin releasers for each pair of stacks, one releaser for each stack, an actuatorcommon to'the releasers, a cam havinga high dwellcorrespon'ding' to one of said pair of releasers and a" low dwell corresponding to the other pair of releasers, a member having a movement incident to each replenishing operation of the loom and operatively connected to-said dam to move said dwells alternately into positioning relationship with respect to said actuator, the

dwells ofthe cam being so constructed that the high dwell is in positioning relationship with respectto: the actuator for two successive repleni'shing operations of the loom and then the low dwell is in positioning relationship with respect to the actuator for the next two successive replenishing operations of the loom, the high dwell effective to" position the'a'ctuator operatively with respect to one pair only'of the releasers and the low dwell effective to position the actuator operatively'with' respect to'the other pair only of said releasers, and a selector mechanism for each pair ofbobbin releasers, any given selectormechanism bobbins drawn" one at a time from any' one of a plurality of stacks of similar reserve bobbins which are arranged in two pairs of stacks, a bobbin releaser forv each stack; an actuator common to thereleasers, acam having alternating high and low dwells, a member having a movement incident to each replenishing operation of the" loom operatively connected to the cam to cause a high dwell and alow dwell to become-alternately active with respect to the actuatorto position the-latter for successive replenishing op erations and effective to-locate the actuator'operatiively with respect to one pair of releasers when the high dwell is active and locate the actuator operatively with respect to the other pair of releaserswhen the low dwell is active, and a releaser selector mechanism for each pair ofreleasers causing the actuator to operate the releasers of the corresponding pair of releasers one at a time and. alternately for successive operations of said actuator, which occur when said actuator is operatively positioned by said cam with respect to said corresponding pair of release'rs.

11 In a weft replenishing loom bobbin cradle controlling slide having an elongated body provided with a dog pivoted to the upper end thereof, a depressing lug fixed with respect to said body and located below said dog when the slide is in normal upright position, a lifting lug' movably mounted on said slide intermediate said dog and said depressing lug, and resilient means on the slide tending to hold said lifting lug in normal operating position, said lifting lug being movable with respect to said body against the action of said resilient means away from said normal operating position.

12. In a weft replenishing loom bobbin cradle controlling slide having an elongated body provided with a dog pivoted to the upper end thereof, a; depressing lug integral with said body and extending laterally from the latter below said dog when the slide is upright, a lifting lug pivoted to said body intermediate said dog and said depressing lug, said lifting lug being movable angularly with respect to the body from an active position substantially in vertical alignment with the depressing lug when said body is upright to an idle position out of vertical alignment with said depressing lug, resilient means tending to hold said lifting lug in active position, and stop means on said body en ging said lifting lug and cooperat ing with said resilient means to hold said lifting lug in normally active position.

13. A bobbin cradle controlling slide for a weft replenishing mechanism, said slide having an elongated body, a lug fixed to said body and offset therefrom and located in a line parallel to the length of said slide, a second lug pivoted to said slide and movable angularly thereon into and out of said line, resilient means on said slide tending to move said second lug into said line, and stop means on said slide to limit angular movement of said second lug relatively to said body.

14. In a weft replenishing loom bobbin cradle operating slide to cooperate with a lifting and depressing finger and having an elongated body provided with a dog pivoted to the upper end thereof when said slide is held upright, a depressing lug on said body for engagement with said finger and extending laterally therefrom below said dog when the slide is upright, a lifting lug between said dog and said depressing lug, a pivotal connection between said body and said lifting lug by means of which the latter is movable with respect to said body from one position to another position, said lifting lugs in one of said positions being placed for engagement with said finger, and a spring supported by said slide and tending normally to hold said lifting lug in one of said positions but permitting movement of said lifting lug to the other of said positions.

15. In a weft replenishing loom operating with a shuttle the weft of which is replenished by reserve bobbins drawn from any one of four stacks of similar reserve bobbins arranged in two pairs of stacks, a pair of bobbin releasers for each pair of stacks, one releaser for each stack, an actuator for the releasers capable of occupying two operating positions, one position for each pair of releasers, a positioner for the actuator effective to cause the latter to shift from the operating position corresponding to one of said pairs of releasers to the operating position corresponding to the other pair of releasers, and a single controller for each pair of-releasers, each controller causing the releasers of the associated pair of releasers to release bobbins successively and alternately from the two individual stacks forming the associated pair, to the end that four successive operations of the actuator, two operations for each operating position thereof, will effect release of a bobbin from each of said four stacks for replenishment of said shuttle.

BENJAMIN W. BROUWER. 

